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The steep price tag of marketing at SXSW

Every weekday, PR Daily associate editor Alan Pearcy highlights the day’s most compelling stories and amusing marginalia on the Web in this, #TheDailySpin.

• Branded food truck for a five-day stint at SXSW: $2,000

• Rebranding an Austin-based restaurant for the week: $750,000

• A 10-man street team blanketing the entire festival: $75,000

• Finding out you nabbed Jay-Z to headline a concert on your sponsored stage: priceless no, still $2 million

What sounds like the reimagining of MasterCard’s iconic campaign is anything but “priceless” for marketers at South by Southwest (SXSW). This is, of course, assuming Bill Murray doesn’t make another spontaneous cameo behind the bar this year. Otherwise, as Digiday shows in an itemized list of SXSW marketing expenses, the costs are enormous no matter how you slice it.

And to whom are those marketing gimmicks appealing? Based on attendees’ tweets, PeekAnalytics determined SXSW’s core demographic is comprised mostly of middle-aged male ad executives from Austin. Business Insider shares more of the company’s finding.

Tweeting attendees actually took the reins for Taco Bell. Through a partnership with Twitter, the fast feeder created an “experimental film” that it tentatively named “Feed the Beat: SXSW 2013.” Featuring musical act Passion Pit, the “rockumentary” used tweets, images, and Vine videos shared using the hashtag #feedthebeat. Reports Clickz, “Feed the Beat” began in 2005 as an organic effort to help feed up-and-coming artists on tour by giving them Taco Bell gift cards. The brand hopes to debut its film this summer; you can watch the trailer below:

As for the food, The Daily Beast speculates Taco Bell’s newly launched Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco could hold the key to rescuing the American economy.

Meanwhile, hipsters may have inadvertently rescued the Twinkie. As PR Daily speculated in November, Metropouls & Co.—owner of beloved beer brand Pabst Blue Ribbon—says it hopes to have the snack cake and other Hostess products back on store shelves by the summer. Reports CNN, the company learned late Monday that its $410 million bid to purchase the iconic brand was approved. (via Esquire)

But how much real estate on the moon could all that money have bought? You’d have to ask Dennis Hope, the subject of a recent Op-Doc by The New York Times. Apparently, he’s been “selling” property in space since 1980:

Speaking of the Times, Creativity provides a look at the publisher’s online makeover:

The publishing makeover has also spread to Condé Nast, where the Los Angeles Times reports an expansion is underway to create video networks around Glamour and GQ magazines.

One look at a McDonald’s menu quickly reveals how its sheer selection of food offerings has expanded over time. However, through a gallery of menu photos taken between 2002 and 2013, Cockeyed.com homes in on how dramatically prices have changed over time. (via Boing Boing)

Time is something to which we all eventually succumb. I just hope when I go, I’m lucky enough to have someone pen as epic an obituary as Harry Stamps’ daughter did for him. Read the now-viral final tribute to the “ladies’ man, foodie, natty dresser, and accomplished traveler” over at Happy Place.

With St. Patrick’s Day approaching, I wonder if Harry ever traveled to Ireland, where according to The Guardian, it isn’t merely speculation that natives feel compelled to drink a patriotic Guinness on the cultural holiday.

But content marketers can get in on St. Paddy’s by doing more than downing an Irish brew. Social Media Today suggests a number of ways businesses can tie in with the holiday hype.

Is there something you think we should include in our next edition of #TheDailySpin? Tweet me @iquotesometimes with your suggestions. Thanks in advance.